AMRITSAR: Reacting to the approval of the “Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Bill 2026” by the Punjab Cabinet, Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, said that the information given to the media by Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in this regard is vague.
In a statement issued, the SGPC. President said that it seems that Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema himself is not fully aware of the bill being brought by the government..
He said that on one hand, Cabinet Minister Cheema is calling this bill completely new, while on the other hand, it is being named Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Bill 2026. Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act 2008 is related to the printing of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Is the government amending it or is a new law being made regarding sacrilege? This ambiguity creates confusion among the Sangat.
Advocate Dhami said that Harpal Singh Cheema's comment about the Shiromani Committee is also far from the facts. The fact is that the high-level committee formed by the Shiromani Committee approached the government's select committee and the government many times but there was no response from the government.
He said that the letters written by the Shiromani Committee at different times were also given to the media in the past.
He said that the issue of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is related to Sikh sentiments and the government is not understanding its importance.
He said that it seems that the government's aim is only to do politics on this issue which is clear from their statements.
Advocate Dhami said that it feels as if Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who was brought forward to inform the media about the law to be made, is only speaking what he has written. Because if he had all the information, he would not have been a victim of ambiguity by sometimes calling the Act an amendment bill and sometimes a completely new bill. Due to this ambiguity of the government, the institutions and organizations of the Sikh community are demanding that its draft be made public.